Saturday truck crash on Kellogg was teens’ suicide attempt, Wichita police say
Wichita police say a truck crash that sent two teens to the hospital on Saturday appears to be a suicide attempt.
Officer Charley Davidson said by email that an investigation into why the truck crashed into a concrete barrier on Kellogg over Edwards revealed that the teens grabbed “the steering wheel of the truck together and turned it abruptly, in an apparent suicide attempt.”
The truck, a 2010 white Ford F250, was heading west on Kellogg in the center lane when, “without warning or reason” it “veered hard to the right” and hit the barrier at about 11:15 a.m. Saturday, the email said.
The impact forced the truck “to flip on its side and slide to a stop,” Davidson said in the email.
Authorities who responded to the scene found the driver, a 19-year-old woman, unconscious and her passenger, a 15-year-old boy, “making comments of wanting to harm himself,” Davidson’s email said.
The teens were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Davidson said Sunday that police are investigating the case as a suicide attempt.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Kansans ages 15 to 24 and the third leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year-olds, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Last year, Sedgwick County had a total of 101 suicide deaths across all ages.
Police are encouraging anyone contemplating suicide to call 911, Sedgwick County Comcare Community Crisis Center at 316-660-7500 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 for help.
This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 2:44 PM.
